246 Test of Strength (18)

Kyro arrived right on time. It wouldn't be good to seem too eager, but being late was also out of the question. His position wasn't that strong.

Inside the room the waiter led him to, Mark was already sitting with a table full of various dishes. The man hadn't bothered to wait and was already sampling them. "Oh, I thought you were gonna arrive an hour later."

"My mistake," Kyro said with a wry smile and sat down. There was a clean plate before him, and he didn't stand on ceremony either. Since he hadn't had time to go out for lunch, his first priority was to feed his despairing stomach.

For twenty minutes, there was no sound in the room but for the clang of utensils and people chewing. Neither of them spoke a word.

Only when both of them were done did Mark look up at Kyro. "You were saying before?"

"That? I'd be bored if you were to be wiped out by Horten. Pretty sure they wouldn't let you even stay in the country," Kyro said, cleaning his face and hands with a napkin.

His words were making fun of the matter, but it wasn't like Mark wouldn't understand that. He might have been a second generation rick kid, but that didn't stop him from becoming a forced to be reckoned.

"Just how bad is your situation?" Mark asked, shaking his head. He then extended his hand. "Show me the offer you received."

"This will remain private, right? I don't need any more rumors floating about."

"If it's as dire as you say, then yes. Otherwise I'll help them push you under the water for wasting my time." Mark's voice held not the slightest hint of joking.

It was normal for him, though, so Kyro nodded and took out a couple documents. "Peruse at your leisure." He wasn't the least bit worried that Mark would find it a waste of time. Horten had really given a good offer. If not for the fact that he had no wish to become anyone's underling, he would have probably taken it.

With every passage read, Mark's eyebrows furrowed more. By the end, he looked like an old man. When he raised his eyes to look at Kyro again, his mouth twisted in what was clearly not a smile. "Did you save the life of someone on the board or what? This is way too good for you."

"I've always been charming," Kyro said, looking at the other imperiously. For some reason, he enjoyed annoying Mark. With Gale he felt like the older one, but with Mark… He just had a need to pull on the others nerves. "How could they not give me something as great as that?"

Mark gave him a look of a thousand words, all of whom were 'you're disgusting, and delusional'. "They must have written this at gunpoint," he muttered under his breath.

"Who knows." Kyro shrugged, an innocent grin on his face. "So what do you think?"

"You wouldn't go to them no matter how good the offer is," he stated, certain of it. He wasn't worried in the least that Kyro would just give up and sell himself. If he had been that kind of person, Mark would have never started a rivalry with him.

'That's the problem of dealing with people who know you,' Kyro lamented inside. "But I might do it just to spite you. Gale would certainly approve of it."

"Gale…" Mark's expression darkened. "That bastard still dares to think revenge? Do I need to go and give him another lesson?"

Kyro's mind whirled, and he realized that the only way to pull in Mark was… That was too despicable, wasn't it? But he really wanted Mark's power behind Dioscuri so that even if their gamble with the game failed, they'd have a back up plan.

"Your sister, how has she been?" Kyro asked carefully, testing the waters. He was somewhat afraid to plunge in head first without knowing the current situation. It had been quite some years since their college together and things might have changed.

Mark crossed his arms, his eyes growing cold. "Why do you ask? If you're planning to suggest you'll bring her in contact with that playboy friend of yours, no deal. She's over him."

The words were definite, but the defensive actions gave Kyro some hope. If no other way worked, he wasn't below going for the other's weak points. "So she's no longer bitter about being the only one who's not been on a date with Gale? I find that hard to believe," he said with amusement.

"Do you really think I'd agree to ally with you just because you started to poke at old wounds?" Mark shook his head. "You're desperate."

"And if I got a date for her?" Kyro asked.

He was a tad desperate, but he hadn't really expected for Mark to even consider joining him. The best outcome in his plans would have been for Mark to start interfering with Horten, giving them trouble, which would be an indirect help to Dioscuri, giving it time to raise back to its feet.

Yet an even better prize was in front of him at that moment. If Mark actually persuaded his board to an alliance… Kyro couldn't lose such a chance. "What if I got her a date so she would no longer be seen as that one girl who isn't good enough for even someone who goes out with everyone?"

"I beat him up and he still didn't take her out even to a cafe. Do you really think you'll have a better time trying to change his mind?"

Mark sounded dismissive, but he hadn't refused Kyro's offer. "What about it then? If I can make him do it, will you ally with us?"

"To pledge my family's company to another Titanic for a date with a guy my sister doesn't even like? You're nuts."

Mark shook his head, but there was a light smile on his face. He was obviously entertained by such an idea. It wasn't often that he could do something outrageous in his line of work, and even though he discounted Dioscuri in his words, he would never underestimate Kyro and Gale. They had known each other for far too long for that.

"So? Are you in?" Kyro felt as giddy as a child who'd just gotten candy. Convincing Gale would be a headache, but not impossible. Worst case scenario, he'd just send Iris to talk with Lily.

His joy dimmed after he remembered about Iris' situation, but he quickly pushed those thoughts away. Gale would find a way out; he had to believe in his friend and focus on his own tasks.

"Fine. But it has to be somewhere public. I don't care if Elise accepts or refuses, but he'll have to do it where plenty of people will be able to see. Preferably journalists too. And on second thought, in a way that he'd be refused. I don't want Elise anywhere near him."

"Any other demands?" Kyro's smile grew a little thin. It wasn't that Gale hadn't ever been refused, or made fun of himself before a large crowd, but…

Mark smirked. "None. If he really does that, I'll come to your office the same day and we can form an official agreement."

"Deal." Kyro extended his hand, and they shook on it. Soon after, Kyro excused himself to go back to work.

While driving, he reminisced about the time when Mark had beaten Gale to a pulp. It had rang through the whole college, and everyone became even more distant to Elise. All of them wondered what was so wrong with her that the playboy would rather get sent to a hospital than agree to go out with her once.

Kyro hadn't cared much about the gossip, but he'd been pretty annoyed at Gale for getting himself incapacitated for a while. They were collecting information on the Brons family, and it had to be put to a stop until Gale got better.

Furious, Kyro had asked what was wrong with him. He changed his partners every day, so why couldn't he have just went out with that girl and been done with it.

Lying on the bed, Gale had said nothing at the time, just turned away to stare out the window. Their friendship had been strained for a while after that, and Kyro only learned his answers three years later.

They had acquired Brons Unlimited, but neither of them were happy. Gale was disappointed that the chase was over, and Kyro realized that his great vengeance meant nothing. The man whom he wanted to put down didn't even return to see his family fall.

With such moods, they had ended up in the old bar. Once it closed and they were struggling to find the way to Kyro's apartment, Gale had suddenly started talking. Out of nowhere, he mentioned Elise. There were a number of girls with that name around, but Kyro soon realized which one he meant.

Apparently Gale had met her as a child. She'd been his first crush, and he'd gifted her his favorite pen. She'd accepted it graciously, but later on he'd found it broken by the lake. When he asked her about it, she dismissed it as nothing. It was just a pen, so why care about it?

They hadn't seen each other for over ten years after that, only meeting in college. She hadn't recognized him, but he had. She was even more beautiful than before, her character having become more down-to-earth and charming, but that pen had been his favorite…